Hillary Clinton: The Tragic Truth

HILLARYCLINTON

THETRAGICTRUTH

Copyright 2016 by Verusha Singh and Virend Singh

All rights reserved. You are permitted to forward this book to anyone you feel might benefit from it, provided it is forwarded intact, without modification, and with all pages included. Your support of the authors’ rights is sincerely appreciated.

Introduction

We are at a pivotal moment in history. The world is watching. All eyes are on America.

On November 8, Americans will elect a new president and, by default, the next leader of the free world – America is the principal superpower in an alliance of free (or democratic) nations. The next US president will preside over critical decisions that will affect America and the world at large. Either Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton will become president.

Who will it be?

Americans face an unprecedented responsibility because the positions of the two candidates vying for the top job are poles apart – they couldn’t be more diverse. As such, the wrong choice could have catastrophic consequences.

Several years ago we articulated our mission for a better world:

To raise human consciousness so that we [humans]

• live in peace and harmony with each other, and the other kingdoms (i.e. plant, animal, mineral, etc.) that make up our world, at every level of our existence;

AND

• take care of our world for ourselves and future generations.

One way to do that is to share our preference for the leader of the free world – the one whose policies and values system most closely aligns with our mission.

We are not American, so we don’t get to vote. Also, we are not politically-inclined, but we do have a vested interest in the outcome of the US presidential elections, and so should the rest of the world.

Why?

For lots of reasons, but let us tell you of the three that have the greatest global impact.

Part 1

Three Catastrophic Global Impacts

[]1.1 The Shift In Global Consciousness

There is an amazing transformation in human consciousness taking place. More and more people are becoming aware that we are all interconnected and interdependent. We need others and others need us. Our ecosystem depends on us and we on it. By the same token, the environment and the economy are interdependent. We are connected to the environment and dependent on it for our daily sustenance – the air we breathe, the food we eat, the water we drink, and much more.

The phrase ‘Stronger Together’ is more than a slogan. It is a shared vision. It is simple. It is powerful.

It’s about being inclusive. It’s about unifying the nation. It’s also about unifying the world because America operates in a global economy – the economy of the world, comprising of different economies of individual countries, all operating together as one system.

Together we are stronger and the synergy of our actions more powerful. Alone we can only achieve so much, but by working together we can multiply our productivity and results many fold.

Together we are remarkable, as the following story illustrates:

Growing Good Corn

There was a Nebraska farmer who grew award-winning corn. Each year he entered his corn in the state fair where it won a blue ribbon.

One year a newspaper reporter interviewed him and learned that the farmer shared his seed corn with his neighbors.

‘How can you afford to share your best seed corn with your neighbors when they are entering corn in competition with yours each year?’ the reporter asked.

‘Why sir,’ said the farmer, ‘didn’t you know? The wind picks up pollen from the ripening corn and swirls it from field to field. If my neighbors grow inferior corn, cross-pollination will steadily degrade the quality of my corn. If I am to grow good corn, I must help my neighbors grow good corn.’

He was very much aware of the connectedness of life. His corn could not improve unless his neighbor’s corn also improved.

The same is true in other aspects of life. Those who choose to be at peace must help their neighbors to be at peace. Those who choose to live well must help others to live well, for the value of a life is measured by the lives it touches. And those who choose to be happy must help others to find happiness for the welfare of each is bound up with the welfare of all.

The lesson for each of us is this: if we are to prosper, we must help others prosper. Pollinate each other; pass the goodwill around; share the territory.

(Singh, 2013)

Together, humans can expand in consciousness for the greater good of each other and Mother Nature and all its life forms. When we infuse our connections with positive energy, everyone is better off.

The presidential candidate of choice should aspire to bring about global cohesion across all communities, as well as break barriers and build bridges between the diversity of cultures and groups regardless of faith.

The candidates appear to be operating at opposite ends of the scale -Trump on the left and Hillary on the right. Consider the impact each candidate’s thinking would have on the world.

Many problems that challenge us today can be traced back to a profound tension between what is good and desirable for society as a whole and what is good and desirable for an individual. That conflict can be found in global problems such as climate change, pollution, resource depletion, poverty, hunger, and overpopulation.

~ Martin Nowak

1.2 Environmental Abuse – The Point Of No Return

For the first time ever we are being challenged to secure a healthy and optimistic future for the whole planet and all life forms – human, plant, animal, and sea life. Without the environment and climate change issue firmly in control, all else – health care, jobs, the supreme court, everything – is inconsequential.

The ongoing change in the weather pattern is a powerful sign of the times that unfavorable human activity is leading to environmental doom. The heat is not only melting glaciers and sea ice, it’s also changing rainfall patterns and causing animals to migrate.

Environmental abuse is inexcusable. We are literally biting the hand that feeds us!

All life on Earth depends on a healthy and stable climate. Global warming – the gradual heating of Earth’s surface, oceans and atmosphere – is caused by human activities like burning fossil fuels, farming and deforestation. The effect is an immediate and direct change to the Earth’s climate causing far-reaching, long-lasting and, in many cases, devastating consequences for our planet.

Court Ruling On Climate Change: Government Found Responsible

Climate change is real. It’s happening now. It’s a catastrophe in the making… and it’s up to us to solve it quickly. In fact, the issue of climate change is so significant that in a court ruling:

A group of youngsters recently won a major decision in their efforts to sue the federal government over climate change. An Oregon judge ruled that their lawsuit, which alleges the government violated the constitutional rights of the next generation by allowing the pollution that has caused climate change, can go forward.

(Page, 2016)

A lot is at stake – your future, my future, the future of coming generations… and the very survival of our planet. If Nature isn’t kept healthy, Mother Earth will become uninhabitable, and civilization will cease to exist!

The great German literary figure, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, pulled no punches when he said:

Nature understands no jesting; she is always true, always serious, always severe; she is always right, and the errors and faults are always those of man. The man incapable of appreciating her, she despises; and only to the apt, the pure, and the true, does she resign herself …”

~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Global Warming: The Greatest WAR We Will Ever Fight

The Arctic is warming faster than any other place on Earth and for years, our leaders chose to ignore the warnings of our best scientists. Using war as a metaphor, Bill McKibben, author of the article ‘We’re under attack from climate change—and our only hope is to mobilize like we did in WWII’, says:

World War III is well and truly underway. And we are losing.

But this is no metaphor. By most of the ways we measure wars, climate change is the real deal: Carbon and methane are seizing physical territory, sowing havoc and panic, racking up casualties, and even destabilizing governments. (Over the past few years, record-setting droughts have helped undermine the brutal strongman of Syria and fuel the rise of Boko Haram in Nigeria.) It’s not that global warming is like a world war. It is a world war. Its first victims, ironically, are those who have done the least to cause the crisis. But it’s a world war aimed at us all. And if we lose, we will be as decimated and helpless as the losers in every conflict—except that this time, there will be no winners, and no end to the planetwide occupation that follows.

Not long after the Paris Agreement [an international convention dedicated to fighting climate change and its effects] earth scientists announced that the West Antarctic ice sheet is nowhere near as stable as we had hoped; if we keep pouring greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, it will shed ice much faster than previous research had predicted.

Like fascism, climate change is one of those rare crises that gets stronger if you don’t attack. In every war, there are very real tipping points, past which victory, or even a draw, will become impossible. And when the enemy manages to decimate some of the planet’s oldest and most essential physical features—a polar ice cap, say, or the Pacific’s coral reefs—that’s a pretty good sign that a tipping point is near. In this war that we’re in—the war that physics is fighting hard, and that we aren’t—winning slowly is exactly the same as losing.

Paul Krugman, summing up the world’s conventional wisdom, post-Paris, concluded that climate change “can be avoided with fairly modest, politically feasible steps. You may want a revolution, but we don’t need one to save the planet.” All it would take, he insisted, is for America to implement Obama’s plan for clean power, and to continue “guiding the world as a whole toward sharp reductions in emissions,” as it had in Paris.

(McKibben, 2016)

[]The Political Divide On Climate Change

Of all the major conservative parties in the free world, the Republican Party stands alone in its denial of the legitimacy of climate science. Indeed, the Republican Party stands alone in its conviction that no national or international response to climate change is needed. (Chait, 2015)

Leading Republican candidates have denied that global warming is occurring (Trump), scorned evidence supporting the existence of global warming as bogus (Cruz), acknowledged that global warming is occurring but not because of human actions (Rubio, Carson), or admitted that it is occurring but dismissed it as not a pressing issue (Fiorina, Christie). Congressional Republicans oppose current Administration initiatives under the Clean Air Act to curb emission of greenhouse gases. (Henry, 2015)

Donald Trump actually thinks that climate change is a hoax cooked up by the Chinese “in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive.” (Trump, 2012)

Selfish people think only of themselves. They have no concern for future generations as long as they can benefit in the short term. Hillary made it clear: fighting climate change would be at the top of her agenda. McKibben observes that the Democratic Party has ratcheted up its concern with increased urgency:

In July, the Democratic Party issued a platform that called for a World War II–type national mobilization to save civilization from the “catastrophic consequences” of a “global climate emergency.” In fact, Hillary Clinton’s negotiators agreed to plans for an urgent summit “in the first hundred days of the next administration” where the president will convene “the world’s best engineers, climate scientists, policy experts, activists, and indigenous communities to chart a course to solve the climate crisis.”

The 2016 presidential election confronts the U.S. electorate with political choices more consequential than any other time in history. But it’s the human-caused climate change that really gives the outcome of this election historic significance.

2016 is on track to be the hottest year on record – climate change is happening faster than we all expected! If we are to save planet Earth, we have to start cutting pollution immediately and accelerate the switch from fossil fuels to renewables.

In discussing the economic, social, and humanitarian benefits of climate change, McKibben lays out a promising vision:

For starters, it’s important to remember that a truly global mobilization to defeat climate change wouldn’t wreck our economy or throw coal miners out of work. Quite the contrary: Gearing up to stop global warming would provide a host of social and economic benefits, just as World War II did. It would save lives. (A worldwide switch to renewable energy would cut air pollution deaths by 4 to 7 million a year, according to the Stanford data.) It would produce an awful lot of jobs. (An estimated net gain of roughly two million in the United States alone.) It would provide safer, better-paying employment to energy workers.

(A new study by Michigan Technological University found that we could retrain everyone in the coal fields to work in solar power for as little as $181 million, and the guy installing solar panels on a roof averages about $4,000 more a year than the guy risking his life down in the hole.) It would rescue the world’s struggling economies.

(British economist Nicholas Stern calculates that the economic impacts of unchecked global warming could far exceed those of the world wars or the Great Depression.) And fighting this war would be socially transformative. (Just as World War II sped up the push for racial and gender equality, a climate campaign should focus its first efforts on the frontline communities most poisoned by the fossil fuel era. It would help ease income inequality with higher employment, revive our hollowed-out rural states with wind farms, and transform our decaying suburbs with real investments in public transit.)

Besides, technology has always created more jobs, and this will be no different in the future. While some jobs are eliminated, many more – some that we can’t imagine yet – will be created.

You Will Be Affected

If you think you won’t be around by the time the planet is destroyed, think again!

The following is an excerpt from an article titled “The Point of No Return: Climate Change Nightmares Are Already Here”, with the following tagline “The worst predicted impacts of climate change are starting to happen — and much faster than climate scientists expected”.

“On July 20th, James Hansen, the former NASA climatologist who brought climate change to the public’s attention in the summer of 1988, issued a bombshell: He and a team of climate scientists had identified a newly important feedback mechanism off the coast of Antarctica that suggests mean sea levels could rise 10 times faster than previously predicted: 10 feet by 2065. The authors included this chilling warning: If emissions aren’t cut, “We conclude that multi-meter sea-level rise would become practically unavoidable. Social disruption and economic consequences of such large sea-level rise could be devastating. It is not difficult to imagine that conflicts arising from forced migrations and economic collapse might make the planet ungovernable, threatening the fabric of civilization.”

(Holthaus, 2015)

1.3 The Leader Of The Free World: A Role Model For Current And Future Generations

A role model is someone who other individuals aspire to be like, either in the present or in the future.

Choosing the leader of the free world is a serious matter, especially in the current political climate. The wrong choice could have catastrophic consequences. It is not a matter to be taken lightly.

Over the years, we have been led to believe that leaders are those who stride boldly about, show power and confidence, give orders and make decisions for others to carry out. (Tracy, 2011) That’s old school – a top-down mentality. These are trying times that call for a special kind of leadership. The role of the leader is to serve. Serving others breaks you free from the shackles of self and self-absorption.

The leader of today is the one who asks questions, listens carefully, plans diligently and then builds consensus among all those who are necessary for achieving desired outcomes. We need someone who understands that leadership is essentially a human business, and the quality of life for everyone is improved when good leadership is put into action.

True leadership is self-leadership. It’s about first leading yourself before you can ever hope of improving the lot of others. It’s an engagement with life itself. It’s about transforming yourself from the inside out (a concept we discuss at length in our book, The Inexplicable Laws of Success [Classic Edition]).

These are some of the key attributes of true leaders:

• They are never so fearless that they don’t play by the rules and abide by the law.

• They are never such victors that they forget what it feels like to lose.

• They continually think through and plan their next moves and the consequences of those moves before acting.

• They elicit the cooperation of others; recognize that they can’t do it all themselves.

‘He who would be master must be servant of all.’

~ Confucius

Part 2

Why we need Hillary Clinton

[]The Only Choice

Hillary Clinton is a seasoned politician. She has served as secretary of state in the Obama administration, U.S. senator from New York, first lady of the United States, first lady of Arkansas, a practicing lawyer and law professor, and an activist and change maker who’s spent her life fighting for families.

Here is an excerpt from Michelle Obama’s first campaign trail speech for Hillary Clinton, summing up why Hillary is the candidate of choice.

“[_ Hillary is one of the few people on this entire planet -- and clearly the only person in this race -- who has any idea what this job entails, who has seen it from every angle…” _]

[_ “No one in our lifetime has ever had as much experience and exposure to the presidency -- not Barack; not Bill -- as he would say, nobody... _]”

(Reilly, 2016)

Hillary exemplifies the leadership criteria for the position of President of the United States of America.

CNN Opinion asked contributors who have worked in or studied presidential administrations, some with a front row seat, for their take. Here’s how David Axelrod, a former presidential adviser and CNN’s senior political commentator, summed it up:

Having spent two years in the tiny rectangular office next to the big oval one, I got in-depth exposure to the demands of the presidency.

There is nothing like it and, therefore, no experience that can perfectly prepare you for it.

On any given day, a president deals with one complex and consequential problem after another, for which there rarely are easy solutions. Some require immediate action and can arrive in the dead of night.

At any given moment, the president will be asked to comment publicly on breaking issues, knowing that a misplaced answer can send armies marching and markets tumbling. What a president says matters to the entire world.

The occupant of that office must therefore have the intellectual acuity to master a wide range of subjects, make quick decisions based on the best information available and speak honestly but with discretion.

More than anything, this person must be prepared to handle the relentless pressures of the world’s toughest office with grace, wisdom and confidence.

~ Who’s really qualified to be President? 11 takes

Articulated beautifully. It is no wonder that Hillary Clinton has garnered the support of a long list of editorial boards while her Republican rival Donald Trump has received just three.

Here are a few of those endorsements. (The first 4 decided to break with their longstanding Republican roots by endorsing Clinton over Trump.)

The Arizona Republic: “This year is different. The 2016 Republican candidate is not conservative and he is not qualified. That’s why, for the first time in our history, The Arizona Republic will support a Democrat for president.

The Dallas Morning News: “We don’t come to this decision easily. This newspaper has not recommended a Democrat for the nation’s highest office since before World War II — if you’re counting, that’s more than 75 years and nearly 20 elections.”

San Diego Union-Tribune: “This paper has not endorsed a Democrat for president in its 148-year history. But we endorse Clinton. She’s the safe choice for the US and for the world, for Democrats and Republicans alike.”

The Cincinnati Enquirer: “The Enquirer has supported Republicans for president for almost a century … But this is not a traditional race, and these are not traditional times. … We need a leader who will bring out the best in all Americans, not the worst.”

Bangor Daily News: “The choice is between voting for someone committed to a life of public service who has the experience, the intelligence and the temperament to lead the nation versus someone who is committed only to himself, who lies constantly and who regularly displays a lack of self-control.”

Niagara Gazette: “In this year’s presidential race, only one candidate has any idea what it means to serve something greater than self or the proven ability to do so, and that candidate is Hillary Clinton. … She is smart, diplomatic, poised and worldly. She has a clear-eyed take on the universe and her place in it. She is an adult.”

Courier-Post in New Jersey: “It’s not just that Trump would make a terrible president. It’s that Clinton has spent a lifetime thinking about how to make things better for everyone and fighting to make that happen, while Trump has never stopped focusing on a narrower set of obligations: to himself, his family, his companies and his celebrity status.”

The Kansas City Star: “She has been preparing for this moment much of her life, and she has the temperament and critical decision-making skills required for the most stressful job in the world.”

(Harrington, 2016)

However, no matter how qualified Hillary is, there are many who constantly criticize her.

There is only one way to avoid criticism: do nothing, say nothing, be nothing.

~ Aristotle

Recent Controversies In Perspective

We know the controversies around Hillary are many and far-reaching in their impact.

Hillary Clinton is not perfect. Nobody is. She has dedicated her life to serve the American people. In doing so, she has made mistakes and acknowledged them. Compared to the plethora of smooth-talking, self-serving politicians out there, she is a genuine public servant. Hillary has been in the arena, experienced her fair share of failure and success, and has come out with irreplaceable experience and perseverance.

Unfortunately, politics are more involved in ‘gotcha’ than what is best for the country and the world at large.

According to an article in The Daily Banter (Pazienza, 2016), “From the very beginning of her time in the national political limelight, she was vilified for refusing to simply sit back and be an ornament on the White House Christmas tree, as she was apparently supposed to.” So, when Hillary ventured out into her own separate political career, she was considered a threat. It is reported that for more than 25 years her political opponents have spent tens of millions manufacturing and recycling every kind of conspiratorial scandal under the sun to attempt to disparage Hillary.

When you throw mud, some of it tends to stick no matter what the truth is.

Let’s put some of her more recent controversies into perspective.

1. Emails Scandal

Government investigators said they found classified information in emails from Hillary Clinton’s server. The emails were not marked classified at the time, and it was unclear if Hillary knew that the information was classified. The long and the short of it is that none of the emails in question were marked with a header as “Classified”, which is a requirement for classified documents. (Parlapiano, 2016)

The investigators referred the matter to the Justice Department and shortly thereafter the F.B.I. opened an investigation. Hillary has said she used her private email account -- just as past secretaries of state have done -- as a matter of convenience. She conceded that she made a mistake and apologized.

After a year-long F.B.I. investigation of Clinton’s email practices while she was secretary of state, F.B.I. Director James B. Comey [a Republican] announced on July 5, 2016, that the agency would not recommend criminal charges against Clinton. “Our judgment is that no reasonable prosecutor would bring such a case,” Comey said at a news conference. (Biography.com Editors, 2016)

2. Benghazi Attack

Clinton testified about the Benghazi attack on January 23, 2013. Speaking to members of the House Foreign Relations Committee, she defended her actions while taking full responsibility for the incident, which killed four American citizens. “As I have said many times since September 11, I take responsibility, and nobody is more committed to getting this right,” she told the House.

Clinton testified in front of the House Select Committee on Benghazi on October 22, 2015 in a nearly 11-hour hearing. The committee issued its final report on June 28, 2016. The just over 800-page report found no new evidence of wrongdoing on Clinton’s part. (Biography.com Editors, 2016)

3. The Clinton Foundation

The Clinton Foundation is a nonprofit organization that brings in billions of dollars in donations from around the world. It is a philanthropic foundation that backs multiple charitable initiatives ranging from economic development in poverty-stricken parts of the world, to fighting climate change, the betterment of lives of women and girls and access to drugs for those who are HIV positive. The charity has been lauded as a force for good in the world and has won accolades for its impressive work.

The rating group Charity Watch gives the Clinton Foundation an “A” and reports that 88% of the money the foundation brings in goes to its programmes, with the rest spent on overheads - surpassing the benchmark for reputable charity groups. (Zurcher, 2016)

Hillary maintains that she never took action as Secretary of State because of donations to the Clinton Foundation. Besides, there has been no proof whatsoever of a quid pro quo -- that is, a direct action that was taken because of a donation.

4. Paid Speeches

Hillary has often been criticized for being paid extremely well for making speeches. Speaking agents will tell you that her status as one of the most famous people in the world justifies her fee.

It’s like asking why anyone would pay Beyoncé or the Beatles a million dollars just to play a few songs. Organizations routinely pay huge sums to have famous people say a few words or attend a conference. Paid speeches are how politicians profit when they leave office and how book authors make good money. (Mayyasi, 2016)

I’ve now read hundreds of the Podesta emails, as well as upward of 60 stories from across left-wing, mainstream, and conservative media outlets about what they entail.

I should stress that what I’ve found is far from all bad. Dozens of these emails show Clinton’s team genuinely striving to discover the correct position on an issue. Many of them show real, determined efforts to find the right solution to some public policy crisis.

Then there’s the other stuff — the emails Podesta presumably wish never leaked.

(Stein, 2016)

We all say things that are meant for a specific audience. For example, our conversations at home are meant to be private. And, so are our emails. The email scandal is sinful! Anyone who thinks otherwise should look in the mirror and ask: “How would I feel if someone bugged my home to monitor my conversations?”

The FBI is investigating the recent hacks of Podesta’s emails. Hopefully they will identify the lawbreakers.

6. Email Saga Continues

The latest allegation pertains to emails found on a device belonging to Clinton aide, Huma Abedin, and her estranged husband, Anthony Weiner – not Hillary Clinton’s private server. Against the advice of senior Justice Department officials, in a wholly unprecedented move, FBI Director James Comey announced that investigators are examining new evidence in the probe of Hillary Clinton’s email server.

Nick Akerman, a former assistant U.S. attorney in the Southern District of New York, said: “Director Comey acted totally inappropriately… It is not the function of the FBI director to be making public pronouncements about an investigation, never mind about an investigation based on evidence that he acknowledges may not be significant. The job of the FBI is simply to investigate and to provide the results of its investigation to the prosecutorial arm of the U.S. Department of Justice.”

According to Matthew Miller, a former Justice Department official, Director Comey did not follow protocol. He said, “The Justice Department’s longstanding practice is don’t do anything seen as trying to influence an election. That’s usually interpreted as 60 days, let alone 11. … It’s completely unfair to Secretary Clinton and it’s really unfair to the voters.”

(Gerstein, Samuelsohn and Arnsdorf, 2016)

There is no indication that the messages contain classified information. Hillary Clinton says she is “confident” a new FBI probe linked to her emails will not change its original conclusion reached in July. In the interest of full transparency, she challenged FBI Director James Comey to release the full details of the new investigation. She said, “The American people deserve to get the full and complete facts immediately.”

Director Comey is operating independently of the Justice Department – an act that has been described as “unconstitutional”. It was not his call to make! Why did he do it?

Tall Poppy Syndrome

When you put yourself out there like Hillary has, people will take shots at you. It’s referred to as “Tall Poppy Syndrome” – a term widely used in all the Anglosphere nations.

The tall poppy syndrome is a culture where people of high status are resented, attacked, cut down or criticized because they have been classified as better than their peers. This is similar to begrudgery, the resentment or envy of the success of a peer. (Wikipedia, 2005)

Hillary has weathered the storm of attacks upon her. There’s nothing more anyone can throw at her that hasn’t already been fed to death. She is indeed a remarkable lady.

What most people don’t realize is that any person with such immense knowledge and understanding of global affairs would have spent countless hours building that compendium of knowledge piece by piece. Also, her extraordinary success is an accumulation of hundreds, if not thousands, of tiny efforts and sacrifices that nobody ever sees or appreciates.

It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.

~ Theodore Roosevelt (Former President of the United States)

Lies, Lies and More Lies

All politicians lie. Some lie more than others. According to the PolitiFact Chart below, Hillary Clinton is one of America’s most honest politicians; Donald Trump is one of the biggest liars!

It’s not so much what folks don’t know that causes problems; it’s what they do know that ain’t so.

~ Artemus Ward

Trust and honesty are considered Hillary’s weak areas. She’s competent, can be warm and caring, qualified, knows her stuff (a “policy wonk”). But, when it comes to honesty, people give her low marks. Those who know her and have followed her for years know that the persistent meme is false, largely the result of constant right-wing attacks on her integrity, and a good slice of the country has bought into that false perception.

(floridageorge, 2016)

Reality is that Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are actually two of the most honest politicians in America.

Part 3

The Moment of Truth

[]Which World Do You Wish To Live In?

In an article titled ‘Why 2016 May Be the Most Important Election of Our Lifetime,’ Joshua Green writes:

In almost every area of domestic policy, Democrats and Republicans would point the country toward radically different futures. The centerpiece of Obama’s energy initiative, the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Power Plan, would restrict emissions from power plants. Republican-led states are challenging it in court. If it’s struck down, the next president will rewrite the rules. Every Democratic candidate shares Obama’s commitment to halting climate change. Most Republican hopefuls reject the science that explains rising global temperatures and have vowed to scrap controls on greenhouse gas emissions.

(Green, 2015)

This is frightening. Climate change is one of the greatest threats facing humanity in the 21st century and politicians are dragging their feet.

“To see what is right and not do it is a lack of courage.”

~ Confucius, philosopher

In a research article titled ‘The Political Divide on Climate Change: Partisan Polarization Widens in the U.S.’, the authors observed:

…should Hillary Clinton, who has expressed growing concern about climate change, win the Presidency, her administration’s efforts will continue to be hampered by Congress unless the Democrats also win both the House and the Senate (the former seems unlikely at this point, while the latter is conceivable but uncertain).

And,

…as long as rank-and-file Republicans vote for conservative candidates, and those candidates remain steadfast in opposition to climate change action, the former’s receptivity to climate-friendly policies remains almost irrelevant—for the Congress they help elect will be highly unlikely to give such policies any consideration. Republican antipathy to governmental regulations, combined with enormous campaign contributions to the GOP from fossil fuel interests, means that most Republican politicians have strong ideological as well as material reasons for opposing measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, in addition to pressure from party activists and voters.

(Dunlap, McCrght and Yarosh, 2016)

The Tragic Truth is:

Even if Hillary Clinton is elected president, agreement on major action to combat climate change is improbable… unless voters give her leadership of the House of Representatives!

Conclusion

In a world overflowing with chatter, print and digital communication, we tend only to listen to the messages we want to hear and discard the rest. Mostly people believe only what they choose to believe, or only what fits into their perception of things, summarily rejecting anything to the contrary.

Our behavior is affected by our beliefs or perceived truths. There was a time when most people believed that the world was flat. This perceived truth impacted their behavior. When we make decisions based on a belief or perception that may not be completely accurate, we are likely to make a bad decision. Bad decisions result in undesirable outcomes.

Be open-minded. Consider the facts and the severity of the situation we face. Be willing to shift your position. Depose those who oppose combatting climate change and saving civilization and planet Earth. The way to do that is to vote.

Voter turnout is important. Apathy might result in unintended consequences… as was the case in Brexit. Millions who wanted the UK to remain a member of the EU did not vote only to learn that the “opposing camp” narrowly beat them at the polls. Their laziness to vote could cause unfavorable global consequences.

Voting is a meaningful way to back the issues you care about… and the representatives you think can best effect the changes you want to see.

Cruz said it best when he chose not to endorse Donald Trump at the GOP Convention. He said: “Please, don’t stay home in November. If you love our country… stand and speak and vote your conscience. Vote for candidates up and down the ticket who you trust…”

Hillary concurs: Vote your conscience.

[]Other Resources by Verusha and Virend

Education beyond the MBA or any other degree. Success concepts you will not learn at any traditional college or university.

Success is predictable. It is based upon Universal Laws. The laws are flawless; they work perfectly every time, all the time. However, the laws are mysterious. They have ‘hidden truths’; they are not as clear-cut as they might seem. There are subtleties to the Universal Laws which, when understood and applied, can make all the difference between happiness and misery, prosperity and poverty, peace and conflict, ease and struggle, and so on. Some things are so subtle that they are mystifying.

The Inexplicable Laws of Success [Classic Edition] leaves no stone unturned. It makes extensive use of stories, analogies and quotes to reveal and drive home the ‘hidden truths’ about success.

Professional Appraisals:

“This book gives ideas and insights into unlocking and releasing your full potential for happiness and success.”

Facts tell, stories sell! Stories increase consumption of your message because they create understanding and arouse curiosity. They express ideas in simple, familiar terms and often compel people to take action.

We all love stories. There is a power in storytelling that can transform our lives. Traditional stories, myths and fairy tales hold this power. Storytelling can enliven almost any topic and has been practised since the beginning of time. It’s how civilizations pass on their insights to the next generation. It’s how religions pass on their sacred teachings. And, it’s how parents, by the telling of fables, transmit to their children the values they want to impart.

Stories hold our attention and stay with us long after we have heard them. They serve as examples and help us shatter limiting beliefs and develop a positive attitude towards life. Inspirational Short Stories about Success and Happiness comprises a wonderful, wide-ranging and enjoyable collection of short stories that entertain, educate and inspire.

Stories differentiate you from the competition. Become a master storyteller!

Inspirational Poems about Life and Success: Thought-provoking and Empowering Words to Uplift and Inspire You is an impressive collection of insightful poetry that will touch your heart, give you hope and motivate you to be your best. The poems provide a powerful source of wisdom and inspiration and will make a great addition to any self-improvement or motivational book collection. It is a great resource for speakers, coaches, teachers, leaders and parents.

Inspirational Words and Positive Quotes to Live By: An Insightful Collection of Motivational Quotes is packed with wisdom and serve to remind you that life can be good, no matter what challenges you may be facing. These quotes will empower and encourage you to live your life to the fullest. They come from accomplished people, sages, philosophers and thinkers, all of whom started out as an ordinary citizens and have achieved greatness.

[]References:

Chait, Jonathan. (2105). Why Are Republicans the Only Climate-Science-Denying Party in the World? Available: http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2015/09/whys-gop-only-science-denying-party-on-earth.html. Last accessed. 27th Oct 2016.

floridageorge. (2016). Fact: Hillary Clinton Is One of America’s Most Honest Politicians. Trump is one of the biggest liars. Available: https://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/8/1/1555457/-Fact-Hillary-Clinton-Is-One-of-America-s-Most-Honest-Politicians-Trump-is-one-of-the-biggest-liars. Last accessed: 27th Oct 2016.

Green, Joshua. (2015). Why 2016 May Be the Most Important Election of Our Lifetime. Available: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-11-05/why-2016-may-be-the-most-important-election-ofour-lifetime. Last accessed. 27th Oct 2016.

Harrington, Rebecca. (2016). Here are all the major newspapers that have endorsed Hillary Clinton for president. Available: http://www.businessinsider.com/hillary-clinton-endorsements-newspaper-editorial-board-president-2016-2016-9/. Last accessed. 27th Oct 2016.

Mayyasi, Alex. (2016). Why Do Famous People Get Paid $250,000 to Give a Speech? Available: https://priceonomics.com/why-do-famous-people-get-paid-s250000-to-give-a/. Last accessed. 27th Oct 2016.

McKibben, Bill. (2016). We’re under attack from climate change—and our only hope is to mobilize like we did in WWII. Available: https://newrepublic.com/article/135684/declare-war-climate-change-mobilize-wwii. Last accessed. 26th Oct 2016.

[]About The Authors

This book is the collaborative effort of Virend and Verusha, a father and daughter team.

Virend Singh is a business professional with an MBA and a graduate of the ‘school of hard knocks’. His greatest revelation was that Prosperity is the direct result of ‘Growing’ and ‘Contributing’. Having learned first-hand what it takes to achieve notable success, his plans for the future is to work with his daughter Verusha and help people improve the quality of their personal and professional lives.

Verusha Singh is a writer and entrepreneur who operates her own self-publishing business. She has qualifications in Media and Writing, and Editing and Publishing. After graduating from university she held positions at two publishing companies, including Hay House (Australia). Verusha’s plans for the future are to continue to write and teach about all aspects of success.

For other resources by Virend and Verusha go to www.inkNivory.com

Disclaimer:

Much of the information contained in this publication has been sourced from the internet and, while they appear to be from reliable sources, the authors cannot guarantee their accuracy. The viewpoint expressed in the publication is that of the authors. The publication is offered for information purposes only. The reader is solely responsible for his or her own actions arising from the use of this document. If any professional advice or assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought.

Hillary Clinton: The Tragic Truth

We are at a pivotal moment in history. The world is watching. All eyes are on America.
On November 8, Americans will elect a new president and, by default, the next leader of the free world - America is the principal superpower in an alliance of free (or democratic) nations. The next US president will preside over critical decisions that will affect America and the world at large. Either Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton will become president. Who will it be?
Americans face an unprecedented responsibility because the positions of the two candidates vying for the top job are poles apart - they couldn’t be more diverse. As such, the wrong choice could have catastrophic consequences.